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| The National Ability Center, Park City, Utah |
Last month I had the opportunity to volunteer at the National Ability Center’s Summit Challenge Bike Ride.
The event is an annual fund raiser for the Park City based organization
that provides recreation for people with disabilities, from autistic children to
veterans.
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| A few of the 800 riders at the start. |
I’ve ridden for the last four years, but this year due to
my knee replacement, I was unable to ride.
I figured registering other riders was a good way to be involved. Plus, I got to spend some quality time with
my daughter Erika, who had also signed up to volunteer.
So Friday morning, August 26th I found myself at
the Newpark Hotel at Kimball Junction at 6:30 a.m. with NAC staffers Julia,
Kassandra, Heather and Jan, and volunteer (and fellow spin class sufferer) Pat
handing out bib numbers and swag bags to a good portion of the 800 riders
registered.
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| Cyclists of all abilities hit the road. |
Saturday morning, the day of the ride, Erika and I were in
the parking lot near the NAC at 5:00 a.m. in the 42 degree darkness, setting up
tables, organizing spreadsheets and bib numbers, getting ready for an onslaught
of riders who had yet to pick up their numbers. There were
three routes: a 102, 52 or 16 mile ride. The 102 milers started at 7, the 52
milers at 9, and the 16 mile riders at 10:30.
The Summit Challenge is aptly named. The 102 mile route features 3000 feet of
climbing, as riders navigate through Kamas, Woodland, Frances and Oakley up
some insanely steep roads, sometimes in fierce headwinds. The 52 mile ride isn’t any easier. I’ve done 38 miles of that route and it beat
me up pretty good, especially the nasty headwind in Brown’s Canyon. Even the 16 mile ride has
900 feet of vertical and it’s no piece of cake. But it’s extremely rewarding,
and well worth the effort for such a great cause.
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| Me at a previous Summit Challenge. |
Husband-and-wife team Meeche White and Pete Badewitz founded
the NAC in 1985 as a ski school for people with disabilities. White, a
recreational therapist with a degree from Florida State University, and
Badewitz, a Vietnam veteran and below-the-knee amputee she met while teaching
skiing in Colorado, decided Park City would be the place. That first year, with
a $5,000 grant from the Veterans Administration, they taught 45 adaptive ski
lessons.
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| At the NAC, skiing is for everyone. |
This year, their 30th Anniversary, the National
Ability Center will provide more than 28,000 experiences in alpine and Nordic skiing,
snowboarding, aquatics, archery, biathlon, cycling, mountain biking, kayaking,
river rafting, camping, hippotherapy—the use of horseback riding for physical
and emotional therapy and more. It is considered one of the leading year-round
recreation centers in the world for people with disabilities, as well as a
center for training world-class Paralympic athletes. Their stated mission
was—and still is—to provide opportunities to discover abilities
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| Good times with Erika. |
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I’ve been involved with the NAC since 2006 as a participant and
volunteer. It is an amazing organization
staffed with passionate and committed professionals who make life better for
thousands of physically and mentally challenged people. They’ve transformed
Park City and Utah into one big therapeutic clinic
.
This year’s Summit Challenge is the biggest to date. While it was hard to sit behind the
registration table and watch those 800 riders speed by, it was gratifying to
know that I was able to be a part of it. Next year, I’ll be back in the saddle,
along with my daughter Erika, son-in-law Jason, wife Jayne and granddaughter
Ellie. It’s on the family bucket
list.
